Terms & Conditions
Money Labs ltd (The Pension Lab) service legal terms
The Pension Lab offers an online service in support of processes operated by Aegon UK Plc. Our services are limited to a website that provides a single view of pensions, along with related administration functions. These functions include, where relevant, written and verbal communications with your existing pensions providers for the purposes of gathering policy information and completion of transfer forms on behalf of Aegon UK Plc.
Money Labs Ltd. (The Pension Lab) does not provide pensions, financial, regulatory, legal, tax or other investment advice or recommendations under these Terms or otherwise and nothing on The Pension Lab Website or in any communications from us should be construed as such.
1. Introduction
The Pension Lab Services are offered strictly on the basis of these Terms.
These Terms are an important document upon which we intend to rely and sets out key contractual terms and conditions that shall be legally binding upon you for use of The Pension Lab Services. Please read these Terms carefully and ensure you understand them and are happy with their contents before you proceed to use The Pension Lab Service. For your own benefit and protection, you should consider whether seeking specialist advice from a financial adviser and/or solicitor would be appropriate for you in determining whether to use The Pension Lab Service. If you require any further information on these Terms or The Pension Lab Service please contact us on aegon@thepensionlab.co.uk.
If you do not agree with any of these Terms, you should not use The Pension Lab Service.
In addition to these Terms, you also need to read and ensure you understand the relevant Terms, fact sheets and disclosure documents for your Aegon UK Plc. Plan (as defined herein), should you decide to use The Pension Lab Service.
2. Definitions
Account: your online account is set up through The Pension Lab Website and activated when you complete your details on the relevant account access page, which you reach by clicking a link which will be sent to you by Aegon UK Plc.
When your Account is set up, you will receive online access to your Account through The Pension Lab Website. Through your Account, you can access The Pension Lab Services.
Pension Providers: Pension providers are commercial organisations that provide pension arrangements and services, including the management of pension assets.
Existing Pensions: any pension that you hold with a Pension Provider, other than Your Aegon UK Plc. Plan.
Pension Switch: a transaction is not within the definition of pension transfer, but involves moving pension benefits from one scheme to another scheme of the same type.
The Pension Lab Website: the website operated by The Pension Lab.
Aegon UK Plc. Website: the website of Aegon UK Plc., who offer you access to The Pension Lab Services.
The Pension Lab Service: the service includes helping you to find Existing Pensions and obtain policy information from previous Pension Providers. If you decide to complete a Pension Switch, a representation of the Aegon UK Plc. transfer application form can be completed on The Pension Lab Website. This is with a view to combining some or all of your Existing Pensions into your Aegon UK Plc. Plan. You will be bound by the pension switching terms of Aegon UK Plc.
The Pension Lab Services: all of the services offered on or via The Pension Lab Website, however accessed, including, without limitation:
- the Account;
- The Pension Lab Website;
- The Pension Lab Service;
- any other service, facility, or information, that may be added to these Terms from time to time; and
- any other service, facility, or information, that is provided that is ancillary to any of the items listed above, each of which is accessible through a variety of devices including the Internet.
Aegon UK Plc. Plan: the pension plan that you currently hold with Aegon UK Plc.
In these Terms, the Plan you choose to combine your existing pensions with is referred to as “your Aegon UK Plc. Plan“.
Terms: these terms and conditions, as amended or restated, from time to time.
Working Day: any day on which banks are generally open for business, except a Saturday or Sunday.
3. When these terms apply
These Terms apply to any of The Pension Lab Services, including where you are in receipt of any services supplied by our partners in the course of delivering any The Pension Lab Services. These Terms are applied consistently to all customers engaging with The Pension Lab Services.
3.1 When you first activate The Pension Lab Account
By agreeing to activate an Account on The Pension Lab Website, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms to the extent they apply to your use of The Pension Lab Services.
4. The parties
You: You must be aged 18 or over to use any of The Pension Lab Services.
The Pension Lab: Money Labs Ltd, a company incorporated and registered in England, registered office at The Dock, 75 Exploration Drive, Leicester, LE4 5NU (registered in England, Company Registration No. 10295451) and where referred to in these Terms includes each of The Pension Lab Ltd’s directors, officers, employees, agents, advisers, authorised representatives and corporate affiliated entities. The Pension Lab and its directors, officers, employees, agents, advisers, authorised representatives and corporate affiliated entities shall be entitled to enforce these Terms as if each of them were a party to these Terms. The Pension Lab is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 812251).
In this agreement, “we” and “us” will be taken to mean The Pension Lab, who provide you with one or more of The Pension Lab Services either individually or as a group unless otherwise specified in these Terms.
5. The services this agreement applies to and what you need to know about them.
These Terms will be amended or supplemented to detail any additional The Pension Lab Services that are offered from time to time in the future.
You should not seek to utilise any of The Pension Lab Services without first reading these Terms.
We reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to refuse to deliver any one or more The Pension Lab Services to you.
5.1 Account opening
Opening an Account with The Pension Lab is free.
Your Account is opened from the moment you activate the account on The Pension Lab Website.
However, initiating the Account opening process does not necessarily mean that you will be able to use any of the other The Pension Lab Services.
5.2 The Pension Lab Service
We will use the information you provide us to locate your existing pension information on your behalf. We may ask you to provide information about yourself, including information about your existing pensions, as well as your authorisations to approach the providers of your Existing Pensions (either in writing or verbally) in your place to obtain relevant information from them. By accepting to use The Pension Lab Service you agree to allow us to use this information (including your personal data and any approved form of your signature) to identify you to your existing pension providers upon their request and to find your existing pension savings by contacting the Pension Providers of your Existing Pensions. By asking us to gather information about your pensions, you approve our usage of a standard letter of authority, which may contain an electronic or digitally rendered physical (wet ink) copy of your signature.
We take the security of your information very seriously. See further details of our security processes for information you provide to us in our Privacy Policy here and below in these Terms at Section 7.
While we will always take reasonable measures to ensure the accuracy of the information that we provide you, we are unable to guarantee the accuracy of information from third parties provided in relation to your existing pensions. We do not accept liability for any default or mistakes by any third party who has provided us information about your pensions or resulting mistakes or inaccuracies.
You are welcome to contact us with clarification questions. We may also point you towards additional sources of information.
If you wish to proceed with a Pension Switch, we also assist with the digital submission of forms required by Aegon UK Plc., in order that they can conduct a Pension Switch of your Existing Pensions into Your Aegon UK Plc. Plan.
By asking us to complete your Aegon UK Plc. switch application form, you approve that we can apply your personal information to that form, including an electronic copy of your signature.
When determining the appropriateness to you of combing your pensions into Your Aegon UK Plc. Plan, you should review and consider:
- the relevant factsheets and other disclosure documents for Your Aegon UK Plc. Plan that you are considering combining your Existing Pensions with, including disclosures on transaction costs; and
- your Aegon UK Plc. Terms.
The Pension Lab will act in accordance with regulatory requirements at all times, both in relation to the regulatory processes of Aegon UK Plc., and our own authorisations.
6. Monitoring your account and communicating with us
You acknowledge and agree that The Pension Lab Services are provided exclusively as online services and therefore we will deliver most of our communications with you over the Internet, including via email.
Our email messages may contain personal information about you and your pensions, so you should ensure that your email address is always correct and up to date. If any details are wrong, or if you receive a confirmation notice you do not recognise, you must contact us immediately.
You will usually be able to access your Account through The Pension Lab Website at any time. We make every effort to be available to you, but cannot guarantee that access to your Account will be available at all times or without delay. You acknowledge and agree that we will not be liable to you if our systems or services are unavailable to you for whatever reason.
If you would like to get in touch, please contact aegon@thepensionlab.co.uk
7. How we protect your information and privacy
The Pension Lab is registered as a data controller under UK data protection laws (registration details can be obtained by viewing the Data Protection Public Register at https://ico.org.uk/). The Pension Lab takes all reasonable care to prevent any unauthorised access to your personal data. We take the protection of your information very seriously and how we may use your information is documented in our Privacy Policy here.
We may obtain information (including personal data) from you, your existing pension providers and other third parties at various times you are accessing any of The Pension Lab Services. Any information you provide may be used to update an existing record we hold with respect to you.
You accept that it is your responsibility to ensure that the contact details we have for you are active and up-to-date. If you change your email or postal address in the future, please tell us as promptly as possible.
We may also need to seek additional information from you, in which case we may delay your access to The Pension Lab Services, in part or whole, until we receive any such additional information or contact you again to facilitate the transmission of this information.
By using The Pension Lab Website you agree to the placement of cookies on the device you are using and accept how we may collect data about you. Further information on our use of information and cookies is available in our Privacy Policy here.
We will rely on any communication which we reasonably believe to have been made by you (or on your behalf). We are entitled to treat instructions validated with activation of your account on The Pension Lab Website as genuine. Where we are unable to validate your instructions for any reason, we will be entitled to follow our internal security procedures to handle your requests.
When using The Pension Lab Services, it is your responsibility to have secure access to the Internet.
We maintain appropriate processes and controls to secure the information we hold about you. You must not disclose any secure information to anyone else. You acknowledge and agree that you shall be responsible for any losses, damages or liabilities you suffer from any disclosure you do make. You are responsible for keeping your personal data secure. Your personal data outside of The Pension Lab is beyond our control and you (i) accept these risks, and (ii) indemnify and hold harmless The Pension Lab from any losses, damages or liabilities you may suffer as a result of a third party receiving unauthorised access to your personal data (including through identity theft) and subsequently accessing information about you and your The Pension Lab Account or completing transactions on your behalf. Where such activities lead to your Account being blocked we will not be liable for any losses that could arise. Where we believe the integrity of our systems could be compromised by a third party receiving unauthorised access to your personal data, we reserve the right to block online access to your Account and take such other reasonable action as may be necessary to protect us or you.
You must report any information loss, suspected theft or misuse of your Account to us as soon as possible by emailing aegon@thepensionlab.co.uk.
You acknowledge and agree that we accept no liability for any damage, liability or loss suffered by you or any third parties resulting from you not having complied with these Terms or your failure to take reasonable security precautions.
By initiating the process to establish an Account or utilising any The Pension Lab Services, you agree and consent to our monitoring and recording any or all of our interactions with you, including for the purposes of improving The Pension Lab Services or meeting any of our regulatory requirements.
Provided that we send you correspondence to the email address and/or postal address you have provided, we will not be deemed to have failed in any duty of privacy, nor be liable for any losses, costs or expenses which may arise from a third party intercepting the communications and we shall not be responsible for the loss of any documents, or the cost of replacing them, or for any other loss, cost or expense resulting from delay, or failure of delivery of, any communication we send or receive in such manner.
8. Our fees
Using The Pension Lab Service has no direct cost to you as we are remunerated by Aegon UK Plc.
9. Leaving The Pension Lab
You can close your account at any time. Once your online Account access has been stopped, you will no longer be able to access the information saved in your Account or access any other The Pension Lab Services.
The Pension Lab Services do not include the retention and delivery of any documentation or records to you after the expiry of your access to your Account in accordance with these Terms and you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any damages, losses or liabilities you may suffer for any failure to retain copies of relevant records after the expiry of your access to your Account.
Please note that after any termination of your The Pension Lab account (whether by you or us) we may retain information about you as required by law, or for legitimate business purposes to the extent permitted by law. For instance, if we believe you have committed fraud or violated our Terms, we may seek to resolve the issue before deleting your information.
10. Changes to these terms
We may change these Terms, including our fees, from time to time in whole or in part, without further consent from you. We will notify you of material changes to these Terms by sending you the amended Terms by email. We will also make the amended Terms available on The Pension Lab Website. Subject to regulatory requirements, we will give you at least 30 days notice of any changes that may be detrimental to you, but small drafting changes may be implemented immediately.
11. Conflicts of interest
We are determined to treat our customers fairly at all times. We have a policy in place to ensure that we identify and handle conflicts fairly and treat our customers with honesty and integrity at all times. We may receive sample products, free demonstrations or presentations, hospitality or associated promotional materials from product providers whether in relation to the provision of The Pension Lab Services or otherwise, but these are subject to our conflicts policy and are closely managed to ensure customer interests are not adversely affected.
12. Complaints
You should contact us promptly if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of The Pension Lab Services. Email: aegon@thepensionlab.co.uk \ Write: The Pension Lab, The Dock, 75 Exploration Drive, Leicester, LE4 5NU
Your complaint will be handled in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority rules. We treat every complaint very seriously and aim to resolve each complaint fairly and promptly.
We hope to resolve all complaints amicably. However, should we fail to resolve a complaint to your satisfaction or if we fail to do so within eight (8) weeks of receiving your complaint, you can also direct your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service:
Phone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123 \ Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk \ Write: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR
You may also find it useful to use the Online Dispute Resolution platform to help settle your dispute.
13. Other legal matters
We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused directly or indirectly, and whether wholly or substantially, by any one or more events that is an Event Beyond Our Control. An “Event Beyond Our Control“ means any act or event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action by third parties, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat of or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks. If an Event Beyond Our Control takes place that affects the performance of our obligations under these Terms we will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable and our obligations under these Terms will be suspended and the time for performance of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the Event Beyond Our Control and potentially further. You may cancel the contract if an Event Beyond Our Control takes place and you no longer wish us to provide to you The Pension Lab Services.
These Terms, and any dispute, controversy, proceedings or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to these Terms or their formation (including any non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. We will communicate with each other exclusively in English.